Editorial: Thanks for eight years Rep. Wiles

State Rep. Doug Wiles is wrapping up eight years as a member of the Florida House of Representatives.

Barring any special sessions called by Gov. Jeb Bush, Wiles won't likely be heard from again on the House floor.

Come Nov. 2, a new District 20 representative will be elected.

Wiles can't run for re-election and that's a shame. He's a victim of term limits, the law that restricts members of the House and the Senate to eight years.

Wiles, a Democrat, took to the legislative process with a great sense of responsibility and respect for the awesome role.

Being a Democrat, he was relegated to the back row in the Republican-controlled House. But that didn't stop him from crossing the aisle, moving forward from time to time to develop the kind of relationships that lead to good laws built on bi-partisan leadership.

His work did not go unnoticed by the rest of the Democrats. For the past two years, he has been the designated Democrat Leader, otherwise known as the House Minority Leader.

He worked hard to protect St. Augustine's heritage, and get money for St. Johns County-sponsored projects. But in his four terms, he had to rely on the art of compromise to get his bills passed because he was in the minority.

This term, he has stood up for the little guy against a powerful state agency, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind located in North City. He wanted to ensure that poor business practices discovered in a state audit that cited 13 violations of state law two years ago, were cured. He didn't get everything he wanted in the legislation. He lost the part that would have mandated conversations between the city and the school about the school's land-use plans. The Senate version, the one that ultimately passed, encourages communication between the city and the school but does not mandate that the two parties talk. Wiles wanted that to happen. He's optimistic it someday will.

There are three people pre-qualified to run for the District 20 seat this fall. Whoever wins the race will do well to emulate Wiles' bi-partisan style and the statesmanship qualities he always demonstrated to the fullest.